Organized by Fundación Paraguaya, the Cerrito Forum 2025 takes place at the Cerrito Self-Sustaining Agricultural School, located in Benjamín Aceval, in the Paraguayan Chaco. The campus also hosts a Training Hotel and several agricultural production units. This exemplary space serves as a living laboratory for the Poverty Stoplight methodology, created by Fundación Paraguaya and now implemented in more than 50 countries worldwide.
A Global Summit for Prosperity
The Cerrito Forum 2025 brings together over 250 leaders from social organizations working to end poverty, representing 13 different countries.
During the first day, participants attended 12 sessions with 38 speakers, covering topics such as social innovation, purpose-driven leadership, and human-centered technology.
Humanizing Actions to Build Trust
One of the main messages of the first day was the importance of humanizing our actions to build trust.
Listening, accompanying, empowering, and empathizing were highlighted as essential actions to strengthen community participation.
“Crises allow us to innovate and open new windows of opportunity. Challenges are not problems—they are opportunities.”
Speakers emphasized that all social organizations should adopt a narrative of prosperity.
“We all face an internal struggle between doing and not doing. The story behind our actions is key. How we tell our story matters. In every challenge, preparation is essential. In times of crisis, optimism matters—but preparation matters even more.”
Narratives of Prosperity: Turning Crisis into Collective Learnin
Telling this story means documenting and communicating with the understanding that crisis cannot be solved by optimism alone, but through preparation.
The core idea is that human capital is essential, as people learn best from one another.
The Poverty Stoplight, created by Fundación Paraguaya, encourages group-based solutions that help simplify complex problems.
Purpose-Driven Leadership and Social Intrapreneurship
Speakers also explored the importance of intrapreneurship and purposeful leadership as the foundation for improving processes and creating impact.
This approach requires a strong organizational culture, ready to help human talent flourish and deliver sustainable solutions.
Technology with a Soul: Artificial Intelligence Serving Humanity
During the session on technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in times of crisis, several key ideas were shared:
“AI helps free us from repetitive tasks and saves time. It makes us more efficient. But technology should be the co-pilot, not the pilot.”
Understanding AI requires investment in digital education, inclusion, and digital rights, alongside responsible cybersecurity decisions and appropriate public regulation.
Digital literacy is vital to ensure equal opportunities and inclusive access to technology.
The goal is to make technology an ally, not a replacement, and to prevent the risks of digital exclusion that can widen social gaps.
Trust, Participation, and Hope: The Pillars of Social Change
“Today, information is everywhere—but trust is scarce.”
Quoting Filipino journalist Maria Ressa, participants were reminded that:
“Without facts, there is no truth. And without truth, there is no trust.”
A shared reality cannot be built in an atmosphere of confusion.
Prosperity is built on trust, and during crises, organizations must send a clear message, because clarity drives collective action.
To move from awareness to action, people must embrace their agency—the ability to decide, create, and transform.
Building Bridges and Living by Our Values
Participants agreed on the importance of strengthening trust between sectors and building networks based on integrity and shared values.
“Values must be our daily compass. Organizations need to live their values, not just state them. Only then can we truly build and sustain trust.”
Cerrito Experience: Learning by Example
On the second day, participants took part in the Cerrito Experience, which included guided tours of the Agricultural School, the Cerrito Cheese Factory—internationally awarded for its blue cheese—and the Cheese Tour: How Cheese Can Save the World.
They also met with families who turned all their red (negative) indicators green thanks to the Poverty Stoplight, achieving a sustainable way out of poverty.
The visit included women entrepreneurs’ committees and the Nelixia essential oils factory, located on the same campus.
The forum concluded with the screening of the documentary Kiana’s Mission, featuring its protagonist—who, after spending 17 years in prison, became a community leader helping vulnerable families rebuild their lives.
Cerrito Forum 2025: Global Inspiration from the Heart of the Chaco
The Cerrito Forum 2025 reaffirms that in times of crisis, hope, trust, preparation, and compassion are the driving forces of social change.
Cerrito stands as a place where ideas become action, and collective prosperity grows from trust, innovation, and human commitment.